They could make a little flashing sign come up when someone has poured over 100 nickels into the same bandit machine, that says "Face it, you're on a losing streak. Go read a book in our Library Lounge and try again later."

The Bannocks have the Western Casino and the Shoshones have the Eastern one, up about 10 miles north of here on the reservations. The Western one is off of Interstate 86 and the Eastern one off of I-15. The Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Reservation gets you no matter what Interstate you travel on.

In the interests of full and complete disclosure, I actually stopped four trains (they thought there was another on the tracks) and restarted the Bannock War. And at 5:30 the folks at the Mill heard the "whistle," saw the steam, and quit for the day three hours early.

You are so right. I should never have mentioned it....come to think of it I have been entirely too reckless with advices and suggestions on this thread and I will tone it down forthwith. We must be careful, after all. One never knows, does one?

The old makers in the States did the same thing, wetting the powder with whiskey and then seeing if the alcohol would burn off and "poof!" the powder. I'd even demonstrated this myself with (legal) grain alcohol).

However, the Legion is concerned with those who might do something like stir a cup of gunpowder into a half-gallon of whiskey and then try to drink it or shoot it or both.

Never mix alcohol and gunpowder. It makes a lousy drink, and your gunpowder gets wet and won't work.

Therefore demonstarting your alchol is less than 100 proof. What is the legion playing at drinking that kind of stuff, it might as well be fruit juice?

Knowing the old field test for alcohol levels would be useful for something, eventually. Gunpowder soaked in 100 prof alcohol still burns, any weaker it doesn't. The exicsemans test was to test it and then to add more alcohol or water as needed to get to 100 proof, and so see how much tax was due on it....

This information is passed down from son to father to son to daughter to mother to the lady behind the bar to wife to grandson to nephew to the girls upstairs to Anne Landers.

Yes, it has all been gathered into The Idaho Legion's Guide To Surviving In The Great Outdoors When You're Nekkid And Only Have A Pickup Camper Full Of Gear And Stuff And A Full Tank Of Gas But You've Run Plumb Out Of Drinks Except Water, also know to outdoorsmen as "The Emergency Charmin."

Here's another tip:

If you're lost, start a fire, the bigger the better. The smokejumpers and hotshot crews will find you in no time and can often be touched for spare change. Of course, this won't work in the winter so start an avalanche and block an Interstate highway with it. Don't stand in front of the avalanche, and always stand upwind from the fire.

Last night, though, the heat went out and we had to spend the night cuddled inside the buffalo I'd just killed so we'd have meat for breakfast. Dead buffalo stay warm inside for a very long time, especially if you build a small fire, and in the morning breakfast is already cooked and waiting.

This outdoorsy tip brought to you by Rapaire, your guide to everything outdoorsy.

I was trying to run my end of an event, when the organiser is in hiding, they had no timetable of any sort, would not shut up and listen for two seconds, and forgot to pay, whilst I had an unknown number of people, with varying abilities randomly decide to turn up or not, without informing me. Out Of this I had to come up with a plan, and be expected to know stuff when asked. And the decnt beer thay had on a few days ago hadn't been looked fater, so had gone off...

On a totally unrelated matter, why doesn't HTML have a dedicated rant tag? It would be really rather useful on occasion.

Camped (in a cabin, with heat, it got down to 25 F.) for two nights and back now. Lovely time, saw some mergansers, pelicans, gulls (of course), sandhills. One red fox this morning and this afternoon one cottontail. But blue skies and a nice time.

I've been busy this afternoon, but still, I'm making a little time to check on MOM. What's the excuse for the rest of you? Camping, away from the computer, doing brain surgery or building invisibility shields? Is that REALLY more important than checking on dear ol' MOM?

I could probably find some at the high-end supermarket (Central Market here in North Texas) or at World Market (I think that's a chain). Maybe worth the test. The dogs would eat it if no one else would. :)

If vegemite is illegal, then have marmite (www. marmite.com) instead. British, and virtually indistinguisable to all but the most refined tastes. It's one of those you love it or hate it things, and their advertising has played on this for years...

Moonglow is out of the hospital as of Thursday afternoon. We had to kind of pry her loose--they weren't doing any treatment after the transfusion on Monday, just had her hanging out. We asked if it was dangerous if she left, and they said no, as long as she returns to the ER if she feels bad. I talk to her a couple of times a day. She's studying this weekend instead of going to work, to catch up with her classes. I think a cold a couple of weeks ago triggered the cascade of events. There has been a symptom all along that I've queried her doctors about at her annual physical, and no one ever addressed it. (I always knew which kid didn't flush the toilet by the darkness of the urine).

Docs think she has a genetic form of anemia, spherocytosis. Conclusive test will be in next week. Second opinions coming next, and deciding on treatment.

Thanks for catching her, Bunn. I've wandered in after a good night's sleep (in my own bed--those fold-out hospital contraptions are torturous!) and brewed a strong cuppa tea. I'll go walk the dogs in a few minutes, then get down to a lot of work that needs to be done around here. Playing catch-up, big time.

It's not the question asked, as the guru said, but the feeling behind the question asked that counts. In this case, though, neither was answered. But I am sure Rapaire's old friends Billy the Shake or Billy the Blake, or old Tom Eliot the Banker's Boy, or maybe little Bobby Frost, will chime in any minute and remedy this embarassing flaw in his repute.